Appendix B - Glossary

Adult - Anyone who isn’t a Student or another defined role, such as a Head Referee.

Alliance - Two Teams playing a Match together. Alliances are random in Qualification Matches and chosen during Alliance Selection for Finals Matches (T13).

Alliance Captain - A Team that invites another Team to join its Alliance during Alliance Selection (T13).

Alliance Score - The points scored in a Match, shared by both Teams on the Alliance.

Alliance Selection - When Alliances for the Finals Matches are formed, after the Qualification Matches (T13).

Border - The outer edge of the Field: twenty-four Border foam tiles and four corner foam tiles.

Cargo - A cube-shaped Scoring Object. See Field Overview.

Cargo Tile Plate - A plate on a Field Tile that holds one Cargo at the start of the Match. There are ten.

Controller - The official VEX AIR Drone Controller a Pilot uses to fly a Drone. It must stay paired with the Field Control System during a Match, and whoever holds it wears its lanyard (S6, GG6, D9).

Disablement - The penalty for a safety Violation. The Head Referee tells the Team to land, put the Drone in Prop Lock, and set their Controllers on the ground, and the Drone sits out the rest of the Match. If the Team doesn’t comply, event staff can force the Drone to land from the event software. A Disablement is not a Disqualification.

Disqualification - The penalty for a Major Violation. The Head Referee tells the Team at the end of the Match, and the Team scores zero for it (GG8). Repeated Violations or Disqualifications can get a Team Disqualified from the whole event.

Downed - A Drone that can’t keep flying (crashed, flipped, or failed) and has gone into Prop Lock on its own (GG10, GG12).

Drone - An official VEX Robotics AIR Competition Drone: the airframe plus a legal battery, module, motors, and propellers.

Emergency Stop (E-Stop) - A control that immediately shuts off the Drone’s motors to stop flight during an unsafe or unexpected situation. A Drone that is E-Stopped receives a Disablement, unless the Head Referee decides otherwise based on the conditions at the Field and what led to the E-Stop. The Head Referee can only make that call if the Drone comes to rest inside the Field. See S3.

Event Partner - The volunteer who runs the event, including its volunteers, venue, and materials (T4).

Field - The whole playing area: the Field Tiles and the Border.

Field Control System - The event’s hardware, software, and network that runs Matches. It starts and ends Matches, starts Timeouts, turns Drone motors on and off, and tracks each Drone’s Prop Lock status. Event staff use it through the event software, and can force a Drone to land or put all Drones in Prop Lock. Controllers must stay paired with it, and Drones must stay connected to it (GG6, D1).

Field Element - The Field, Goals, Racks, Field Platforms, and their supporting structures.

Field Platform - Where a Drone takes off at the start of the Match and may land at the end.

Field Tiles - The flat inside of the Field: thirty-six foam tiles, six by six.

Fit to Fly - Ready to fly safely. A Flight Team Member who is Fit to Fly is Focused (paying attention, not distracted), Ready (understands the task), Calm (not rushed, frustrated, or overly excited), Safe (following all safety rules), Prepared (has finished the pre-flight checklist), and Aware (the takeoff and landing zones are clear). See GG4.

Flight Station - The area beside the Field where Flight Team Members stand during their Match, shown by the red and blue lines in Figure FO-1.

Flight Team Member - A Student in the Flight Station during a Match. Adults can’t be Flight Team Members.

Game Design Committee - The creators of Pick & Drop and authors of this manual. It is the only official source of rules clarifications and Q&A answers.

Goal - A place where Scoring Objects are Scored. There are four types: Drop Tower, Drop Zone, Cargo Platform, and Pole Goal. See Field Overview.

Figure G-1: A Drop Tower Goal

Figure G-2: A Drop Zone Goal

Figure G-3: A Cargo Platform Goal

Figure G-4: A Pole Goal

Goal Bonus - Points for each Goal with at least one Scored Scoring Object at the end of the Match (SC12).

Head Referee - A certified, impartial volunteer who enforces the rules. Only a Head Referee may discuss rulings or scores with Teams. Large events may have more than one (T1, T2).

Landed - A Drone that meets SC10.

Major Violation - A Violation that leads to a Disqualification. Score Affecting Violations are Major unless a rule says otherwise. A rule can also make serious, deliberate, or strategic Violations Major. Several Minor Violations in one Match or event can add up to a Major Violation.

Match - A timed period of play. There are six types of Match:

• Practice Match - A Match with no scores, so Teams can get used to the official Field and procedures. Head Referees should not record or track normal gameplay Violations during Practice Matches.

• Qualification Match - A Match played according to the Match Schedule. Qualification Matches decide Team rankings for Alliance Selection (T8 through T12).

• Finals Match - A Match played after Alliance Selection to decide the Tournament Champions (T15).

• Drone Skills Match - A Piloting Skills Match or an Autonomous Skills Match. See Section 4.

• Piloting Skills Match - A Drone Skills Match in which the Flight Team Members fly one Team’s Drone the whole time (DSC6).

• Autonomous Skills Match - A Drone Skills Match in which the Drone flies only under software control (DSC7).

Match Schedule - The list of Qualification Matches, with Alliances and expected start times (T8).

Minor Violation - A Violation that does not lead to a Disqualification. Accidental, brief, or non-Score Affecting Violations are usually Minor. The Head Referee usually gives a verbal warning during the Match so the Team can fix it before it becomes Major.

Module - An official VEX AIR attachment for the Drone: Passive, Motorized, or Magnetic.

Obstacle Completion Bonus - A bonus for completing a Ring Tunnel Pass and Landing a Drone in the same Match (SC11).

Orbit Ball - A ball-shaped Scoring Object. See Field Overview.

Pilot - The Flight Team Member flying the Drone.

Propeller Lock (Prop Lock) - A safety feature on the VEX AIR Drone that prevents the propellers from spinning until the Pilot is ready to fly. When the Propeller Lock is engaged, it prevents the motors and propellers on the Drone from turning. All flight commands are ignored, and the LEDs on the Drone and Controller will blink blue. A Drone enters Prop Lock on its own when it is Downed or moved while not flying, when the Field Control System locks it, or when a Flight Team Member presses the Controller’s Prop Lock button. Drones may only be handled while Prop Lock is engaged (S5, GG11).

Rack - A Field Element that holds Scoring Objects at the start of the Match. See Field Overview.

Ring Tunnel - Four Rings that Drones fly through. See Field Overview.

Ring Tunnel Pass - Flying through all four Rings in order without touching the Field Tiles. Up to two count per Match (SC9).

Round - A group of Matches played under the same Scoring System. In Qualification Matches, Round 3 is every Team’s third Match. All Finals Matches together make up the Finals Round (T10).

Score Affecting - A Violation that raised the Alliance’s score. The Head Referee decides this after the Match by looking at the Drone actions connected to the Violation. Several Violations in one Match can add up to being Score Affecting.

Scored - A Scoring Object that meets the Scoring Rules (SC4 to SC12).

Scorekeeper Referee - An impartial volunteer who counts scores. Scorekeeper Referees don’t make rulings and send rules or score questions to the Head Referee.

Scoring Object - An Orbit Ball or Cargo. See Field Overview.

Scoring System - One of six sets of point values, A to F (Table SC-1). What counts as Scored stays the same; only the points change (SC13).

Skills Stop Time - The time left when a Team ends its Drone Skills Match early, used as a tiebreaker (DSC8).

Student - A person who meets the Student Eligibility Policy for their program and level (G4).

Team - One or more Students. Teams may come from schools, youth organizations, or groups of neighborhood Students.

Timeout - A one-time stop of the Match clock, up to sixty seconds, that starts automatically the first time all Drones in the Match are in Prop Lock. Teams can’t call a Timeout or ask for a break between Matches. See GG12.

Tournament - A competition event with scored Matches, run by an Event Partner (Section 6).

Violation - Breaking a rule. A Violation is either a Minor Violation or a Major Violation. The penalties are a Disablement (for safety Violations) and a Disqualification (for Major Violations).